Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Afghan citizens have successfully reached the UK since the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme was launched on 6 January 2022; and if she will make a statement.

The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme opened on 6th January, providing up to 20,000 women, children and others at risk with a safe and legal route to resettle in the UK.

There are around 6,500 people in the UK who have been brought to safety during and after the evacuation who are eligible for the ACRS through pathway 1. Eligible people who were called forward during the evacuation, but were not able to board flights, will also be eligible for the ACRS through this pathway.

Due to the success of our emergency evacuation and the larger than anticipated number of people brought over to the UK, we plan to exceed our initial aim of 5,000 people in the first year of the ACRS.